Zoysiagrass plant named &#39;BA-189&#39;

ABSTRACT

A newly discovered, and asexually reproduced genotype of  Zoysiagrass  with a distinct set of foliar, floral and agronomic traits.

GENUS AND SPECIES NAME

This invention relates to a new and distinct genotype of Zoysiagrass ofthe genus and species Zoysia japonica Stued. It is described herein anddesignated as ‘BA-189’. As used herein, ‘BA-189’ has the identicalmeaning as “Ultimate Zoysia”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention was discovered and identified in Palm Beach County, Fla.as a distinctly different vegetative inclusion in a planting of theunpatented Zoysiagrass variety ‘Meyer’. ‘BA-189’ is either a spontaneousmutation from ‘Meyer’ or derived as the progeny from an outcross to anunknown pollen parent.

‘BA-189’ was initially propagated asexually from a single stolon. Overmultiple increases at various research sites throughout Florida ‘BA-189’has remained phenotypically stable and uniform. The denomination of thisnew Zoysiagrass is ‘BA-189’, but in commerce, ‘BA-189″ will be marketedunder the synonym “Ultimate Zoysia”, which is its commercial designationin the United States.

The distinctness of ‘BA-189’ from its progenitor is based on four setsof traits including: 1) floral morphology; 2) leaf and stem morphology;3) tissue color and pigmentation; and 4) rate of growth and cover.Measures of disease and insect resistance yielded no statisticaldifferences.

For the purpose of registration under the “International Convention forthe Protection of New Varieties of Plants” (generally known by itsFrench acronym UPOV Convention) and noting Sections 1612 of the Manualof Patent Examination Procedures the new variety of Zoysiagrass of thepresent invention is named ‘BA-189’.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: A comparative photograph of ‘Meyer’ (left) and ‘BA-189’ (right).Both trays were allowed to grow side-by-side, uncut and under the samecultural practices. Note the difference in leaf texture between the twogenotypes.

FIG. 2: A comparative photograph of ‘Meyer’ (left) and ‘BA-189’ (right).Both pots were allowed to grow side-by-side, under the same culturalpractices, and uncut for a period of 12 months. Note the difference interminal height.

FIG. 3: Breeders Block of ‘BA-189’ growing in Avon Park, Fla.

FIG. 4: A close-up photograph of ‘BA-189’ showing emerging seed heads.

FIG. 5: A close-up photograph of ‘BA-189’ after mowing.

FIG. 6: A side-profile of ‘BA-189’ after a recent cutting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

This new variety of Zoysiagrass is a perennial plant propagatedasexually from either rhizomes, stolons, sprigs, or plugs. It is bestadapted to the subtropical climates of Florida and adjacent climaticregions. ‘BA-189’ was tested and described under field conditions atfour research sites in Florida, including Arcadia, Belle Glade,Gainesville, and Milton. Phenotypically, ‘BA-189’ is most similar to‘Meyer’.

The floral morphology of ‘BA-189’ is typical of the species Zoysiajaponica Stued. In comparison to ‘Meyer’, ‘BA-189’ differedstatistically for four of the eight measured traits (Table 1). Onaverage ‘BA-189’ had a taller inflorescence, but this was not due to asignificant difference in the length of the seed head or raceme. Thisincreased height of the inflorescence is due primarily to the extendedpeduncle length. The overall peduncle length of ‘BA-189’ averaged 48.70mm vs 34.25 for ‘Meyer’ (Table 1). Additionally, the glume length wasalso significantly longer for ‘BA-189’.

Although the inflorescence of ‘BA-189″ is more robust, the number ofinflorescences produced on a monthly basis by ‘BA-189’ is, on average,less than ‘Meyer’ (Table 4). On a monthly basis, ‘BA-189’ producedstatistically fewer seedheads in the months of June, July, August,September, October, November, and December. No significant differencesexisted in January through April. These are practical advantages tohaving fewer seed heads produced during the growing season.

The morphology of the flag leaf is described by three metric traits thatinclude flag leaf length, width, and sheath length. ‘BA-189’ differedfrom ‘Meyer’ in leaf width and sheath length (Table 2). No significantdifference was detected in flag leaf length, although ‘Meyer’ produced alonger flag leaf.

The largest differences between ‘BA-189’ and ‘Meyer’ are expressed inleaf and stolon morphology. These traits were measured on fully expandedleaves at the fifth node below stolon meristem. ‘BA-189’ and ‘Meyer’differed significantly for all four traits (Table 3). On average,‘Meyer’ produced leaves that measured 106.9 mm long by 4.0 mm wide,while ‘BA-189’ produced leaves that were 83.0 mm long by 3.00 mm wide(Table 3). Roughly estimated, ‘Meyer’ produced leaves that individuallywere 70% larger that ‘BA-189’. Conversely, ‘BA-189’ produced leafbearing nodes every 27.4 mm compared to 36.7 mm for ‘Meyer’. Thistheoretically allows ‘BA-189’ to carry up to 20% more leaf bearing nodesthan ‘Meyer’. The overall visual effect of these leaf and internodedifferences are also displayed in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Leaf color and stolon/rhizome pigment varied between the two genotypes,and was determined by the comparison of fresh leaf and stolon tissue tocolor swatches in the Munsell Color Chart. The adaxial surface of‘BA-189’ ranged in color from 5GY (4/6 to 5/6) to 7.5GY (4/6 to 5/6),while ‘Meyer’ produced leaves with a less intense green color thatranged from 5GY (5/6-8 to 6/6-8). The stolons of ‘Meyer’ produced apigment color that ranged up to 5RP (3/4), while the pigment in thestolons of ‘BA-189’ ranged up to 5RP (4/2).

Both grasses grew similarly in the warm spring and summer season, but‘BA-189’ had a longer growth duration. It continued to grow and coverthe plots in October and November, and began growing sooner in thewinter (Table 5). The rate of coverage for ‘BA-189’ was statisticallydifferent than ‘Meyer’ in October, November, and February. Although,‘BA-189’ grew somewhat in December and January, it was not significantlydifferent from ‘Meyer’ in those months (Table 5). Because of thisaccelerated growth rate, ‘BA-189’ covered the plot completely in 10months vs 11 months for ‘Meyer’. The agronomic advantage of this fastergrowth rate is a shortened harvest interval, or depending on the harvestcycle, an earlier spring harvest. The faster growth rate for ‘BA-189’was not attributed to a significant increase in either stolon number, orstolon length (Table 5). These traits were not significantly differentbetween the two grasses over the seven months they could be measured. Itis likely that the higher density of leaf bearing nodes presentedearlier (Table 3) may have contributed to this faster rate of coverage.

TABLE 1 Comparison of floral traits between ‘BA-189’ and ‘Meyer’.‘BA-189’ ‘Meyer’ Trait Mean ± Mean ± LSD α ≦ 0.05 Overall Shoot 69.152.58 55.55 2.63 5.556 Seed Head 20.30 0.65 21.85 0.98 1.91 (ns) SeedHead 1.84 0.08 1.86 0.04 0.187 (ns) Seed Count/ 26.90 1.47 28.25 1.303.10 (ns) Exposed 30.70 2.41 20.45 2.25 4.95 Peduncle 48.70 4.47 34.254.47 5.33 Glume Lenath ^((t)) 3.11 0.05 2.78 0.07 0.19 Glume Width^((s)) 0.99 0.01 1.00 0.01 0.06 (ns) ^(z) Overall shoot length is ameasure of the total inflorescence length from the apex of the seed headto the first node on the peduncle subtending the raceme. ^(y) Seed HeadLength is measured from the apex of the seed head to the top of thepeduncle or base of the raceme. ^(x) Seed Head Width is measured at thebroadest part of the seed head. ^(w) Seed Count/Seed Head is the averagenumber of seeds per head or raceme. ^(v) Exposed Peduncle Length is theaverage length of the peduncle not covered by the flag leaf sheath. ^(u)Peduncle Length is the average peduncle length measured from the base ofthe seed head to the top node. ^(t) Glume Length is a measure of theaverage glume length on the seed located at the midpoint along the seedhead. ^(s) Glume Width is measured at the widest part of the glume.

TABLE 2 Comparison of flag leaf traits between ‘BA-189’ and ‘Meyer’.‘BA-189’ ‘Meyer’ Trait Mean ± Mean ±

Flag Leaf 6.93 0.51 7.68 0.59 1.87 (ns) Flag Leaf 0.86 0.03 0.97 0.350.08 Flag Leaf 16.40 1.09 12.90 0.73 2.33 ^(z) Flag Leaf width ismeasured at the widest part ofthe leaf.

indicates data missing or illegible when filed

TABLE 3 Comparison of leaf morphology between “BA-189’ and ‘Meyer’.‘BA-189’ ‘Meyer’ Trait Mean ± Mean ± LSD α ≦

Leaf Length 83.02 3.78 106.88 3.09 8.34 Leaf Width ^((z)) 3.00 0.10 4.020.11 0.25 Internode 27.37 0.92 32.68 1.12 2.29 Internode 1.73 0.05 2.070.08 0.18 ^(z) Leaf Width is measured at the widest point on the leaf.^(y) Internode Width is measured at the widest point on the internode.

indicates data missing or illegible when filed

TABLE 4 Comparison of the average monthly seed head production for‘BA-189’ and ‘Meyer’. Month April May June July August September OctoberNovember December January February March April Seed Head ^(z) ‘BA-189’ 00 0.5 ± 0 0 5.57 ± 12.50 ± 16.25 ± 14.25 ± 11.25 ± 8.25 ± 7.00 ± 3.50 ±0.5 1.38 4.97 4.27 7.82 4.89 2.78 2.20 1.27 ‘Meyer’ 0 0 10.75 ± 25.15 ±29.75 ± 39.75 ± 38.50 ± 29.50 ± 24.00 ± 18.50 ± 12.75 ± 6.50 ± 7.75 ±1.49 3.68 8.91 12.47 8.26 8.26 6.65 4.99 4.50 3.33 4.35 ^(z) Seed HeadCount is measured as mean ± standard error on a 8.0 dm² plot.

TABLE 5 Comparison of the average percentage cover, stolon/rhizome countand stolon/rhizome length measured on a monthly basis. Month April MayJune July August September October November December January FebruaryMarch April Cover ^((z)) ‘BA-189’ 0 5.0 ± 28.75 ± 57.75 ± 56.25 ± 71.25± 86.25 ± 87.50 ± 96.25 ± 97.50 ± 100.00 ± 100.00 ± 100.00 ± 0.0 2.393.57 10.48 1.25 4.73 4.33 2.39 1.44 0 0 0 ‘Meyer’ 0 6.25 ± 40.0 ± 55.00± 58.75 ± 65.00 ± 77.50 ± 81.25 ± 91.25 ± 91.25 ± 93.75 ± 100.00 ±100.00 ± 1.25 2.04 5.40 6.57 8.92 4.79 4.27 7.18 7.18 6.25 00 0 StolonNumber ^((y)) ‘BA-189’ 0 0 4.00 ± 10.50 ± 9.25 ± 9.25 ± 10.00 ± — — — —— — 0.71 1.94 1.55 1.55 1.22 ‘Meyer’ 0 0 4.7 ± 7.75 ± 12.50 ± 13.25 ±11.25 ± — — — — — — 0.63 1.60 0.29 0.95 2.17 Stolon Length ^((x))‘BA-189’ 0 0 3.25 ± 3.00 ± 4.75 ± 8.50 ± 8.25 ± — — — — — — 0.95 0.411.65 1.26 1.44 ‘Meyer’ 0 0 4.50 ± 3.75 ± 4.75 ± 8.25 ± 8.25 ± — — — — —— 0.65 0.25 0.48 1.03 1.03 ^(z) Cover is measured as the averagecumulative percentage of cover over a prescribed plot area. ^(y) StolonNumber is a count of stolons/rhizomes radiating from a central plug overa prescribed plot area. ^(x) Stolon Length is an average measure in cmof the stolons/rhizomes.

REFERENCES

______ 1952. Release of ‘Meyer’ Zoysia to State Experiment Stations.USGA Journal and Turf Management. 5:26-27.

______. 1977. Munsell Color Charts for Plant Tissue (2^(nd) Ed.) MunsellColor, New Windsor, N.Y. 20p.

Beard, James B. 1973. Turfgrass: Science and Culture. Prentice Hall,Englewood Clifts, N.J. 658p.

Forbes, I., B. P. Robinson and J. M. Latham. 1955. ‘Emerald’ Zoysia—AnImprobed Hybrid Lawn Grass for the South. USGA Journal and TurfManagement 8:23:26.

1. A new and distinct type of Zoysiagrass plant substantially describedand illustrated herein.